A Christmas Carol Reader's Theatre Script -Charles Dickens Original -John Leech

Ebenezer Scrooge

Spirit…Tell me if Tiny Tim will live.

The Ghost of Christmas Present

I see a vacant seat in the poor chimney-corner, and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die.

Ebenezer Scrooge

No, no. Oh, no, kind Spirit! Say he will be spared.

The Ghost of Christmas Present

If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, none other of my race will find him here. What then? If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.

Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the Spirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief.

Included in the A Christmas Carol Reader's Theatre Unit:

113 page script divided among 5 staves/chapters directly adapted from Charles Dickens novella with illustrations by John Leech.

Stave One: Marley's Ghost

26 pages with 5 characters + the narrator

Stave Two: The First of the Three Spirits

24 pages with 8 characters + the narrator

Stave Three: The Second of the Three Spirits

29 pages with 9 characters + the narrator

Stave Four: The Last of the Spirits

22 pages with 16 characters + the narrator

Stave Five: The End of It

11 pages with 7 characters + the narrator

8 questions about Stave One

9 questions about Stave Two

6 questions about Stave Three

6 questions about Stave Four

7 questions about Stave Five

55 analytical/metacognitive questions that range from easy to challenging.

Student Reader's Theatre Evaluations based on 4 levels and 5 criteria.

Student Success Criteria

Student Friendly Goals When Reading

Reader's Theatre Checklist

A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas synopsis:

Originally published in 1843, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man when he learns that his actions and words affect everyone around him.

Mr. Marvel's Musings:

-This is a direct adaptation of Charles Dickens' original prose from the novella.

-John Leech's illustrations before each chapter are included.

-I also have express adaptations that use modern language.

*Thank you dear readers for your requests. I do my best to fulfill them :)

Do not fear the reader's theater format. Students love these adapted stories because they are listening to the story and they are a part of the story by playing a character within the story.

Reader's theatre inspires reluctant readers to join in the fun. The strongest and most advanced readers in your class will encourage other students to raise their hand and participate in the story. I also use reader's theatre to add to my drama marks.

If the reader's theatre format did not work for my students and I, then I would have stopped creating and adapting them years ago.

Reluctant readers sometimes feel anxious looking at pages of text, whereas a reader's theater script is broken up into narration and different characters speaking, thus making the story more accessible to those students who have not discovered the incredibly fun activity of reading for entertainment.

I use shorter stories with minimal characters in literature circles.

When can one make time for a reader's theatre story in class?

When I am not reading a reader's theatre unit with my class, I usually reserve Friday's for the reading of a one-off story. It is an event that the class looks forward to, since they do not know which story I will choose. Great for Librarians. I project the stories on the screen and assign characters in class. Some characters only have 1 line. A character like that is perfect for a reluctant reader.

I have read these stories remotely/online and in class/in-person.

I encourage teachers and instructors to allow students to practice their parts at home before they read in front of the class. They can try different voices and tones when they practice and it is a good family bonding activity.

I hope you, and your students have a fun time reading A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas

"God Bless us, Every one!"

Mr. Marvel: The King of Reader's Theatre